Mayor Jim Watson of Ottawa has declared a state of emergency in relation to the Freedom Convoy, which has protested in the city for over a week.
"Declaring a state of emergency reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government," the statement reads."It also provides greater flexibility within the municipal administration to enable the City of Ottawa to manage business continuity for essential services for its residents and enables a more flexible procurement process,
which could help purchase equipment required by frontline workers and first responders."
This news comes just days after Mayor Watson celebrated GoFundMe's removal of the Freedom Convoy fundraiser. On Sunday, convoy organizers were asked about Ottawa's attempts to end the protest. According to one organizer, the Mayor of Ottawa is trying to "starve out the convoy."
During the press conference with organizers,
Ottawa police announced that anyone who provides material support to the truckers may be subject to arrest.
"IMPORTANT" they stated. "Anyone attempting to bring material supports (gas, etc.) to the demonstrators could be subject to arrest. Enforcement is underway.""That's fear," the organizers said in response.
"It goes back to the early discussion about
Mayor Watson's collective punishment strategy of trying to punish the business owners and the convoy owners," an organizer said. "And that's one more... escalating, escalating, escalating."
Comment: More:
Meanwhile, the Canadian military have stated that there are "no plans" to intervene in the protest. From
National Post:
Despite the Ottawa Police briefly raising the possibility of a military intervention to clear a stubborn holdout of Freedom Convoy truckers blockading their downtown, the Canadian Armed Forces have been quick to say they will be doing no such thing . A spokesperson for the Minister of Defence told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, "The Canadian Armed Forces are not involved in law enforcement in this situation, and there are no plans for such CAF involvement."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said Thursday that a military response is "not in the cards right now." "One has to be very, very cautious before deploying military forces in situations engaging Canadians," he said. (First Reading would also recommend caution before deploying the military against non-Canadians.)
There have only been two prior incidents in modern times of the Canadian military being called in to quell civil unrest. The first, the 1970 October Crisis, actually worked great at stamping out Quebec separatist terrorism. But the sight of armed soldiers detaining even peaceful Quebec nationalists en masse has always been a mark on the legacy of then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau. The second, the 1990 Oka Crisis, had a much more checkered legacy . The military did eventually compel a Mohawk-led protest to stand down their blockade of a disputed golf course expansion, but the whole thing was so messy it's mostly become a template for what not to do. The experience of Oka is arguably a key reason why Canadian law enforcement is hesitant to bring the hammer down on blockades of any kind - even when they completely seize the country's rail lines for days on end.
Just like his step dad, he will call in the military. That's how dictators work, like Castro.